posted on May 2, 2001 01:05:11 PM new
I thought this would be a good light topic for today.
I for one smoke 3 times as much as I normally do when I'm doing pictures, editing listing, writing auctions and answering emails.
Not to mention being home all day I've picked up an affinity for daytime Court Shows.
Speaking to others Ebayers at the Flea Market or Post office line I've heard similiar stories such as... "On Thursday nights it's fast food for dinner", or one woman put it to me "my husband knows Sunday nights are Ebay nights so he's sleeping alone".
So what bad habits have you picked up or what family tasks fall by the wayside whe your on Ebay?
posted on May 2, 2001 01:37:51 PM new
1. Junk Tv in the background too. Those court shows are REALLY addictive.
2. I could blame the fast food on ebay, but who would I be fooling?
3. I could also blame ebay for the constant flow of caffine... but again who am I kidding?
I guess in summary it is not ebay at all....
:0)
posted on May 2, 2001 02:13:19 PM new
Since I work full time, I do my on-line at night. Bad habits have definitely formed
1. Mrs. Swanson cooks at our house on a regular basis.
2. background TV - inhibits my concentration and therefore I am not as efficient as I should be.
3. I allow my ebay pit to get almost as bad as my teenagers room before I clean up.
4. I leave too much stuff in the garage after going to auctions and don't clean it up fast enough (according to my husband)
4. I am not as social as I once was. I have too much stuff to do. taking pictures, cropping, wrapping, etc. etc. I am in fact, becoming more of a recluse.
5. If I take a mental health day home from my FT job, I too jump from court show to court show.
posted on May 2, 2001 02:24:05 PM new
Oh, this is gonna be fun
1. Weight gain from sitting at the computer every single day for the past 3 years.
2. Fast food (may contribute to problem #1)
3. Must have the tv on all day in the background as I'm working
4. Sleeping in until noon (when I can)
5. "Ebaying" until the wee morning hours (may contribute to problem #4)
6. Since I'm ALWAYS online I have a new hatred for the phone. Wanna talk? Email me. Don't have a computer? Get one.
7. I now pay more for my phone bill because I have caller ID. Why? See problem #6.
8. Not knowing a Wednesday from a Saturday. What day is it?
I'm sure there are more, these are the first ones that came to mind
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on May 2, 2001 02:26 PM ]
posted on May 2, 2001 02:28:32 PM new
I refuse to get a second line so all phone calls go to memory call. Then I forget to check memory call. Five days later, I have family members sending police to my door thinking I'm dead since I haven't called them back.
Of course, it has reduced the number of sales calls I get because they are tired of going to memory call.
On FLD's, my family just bids me farewell & figures they might see me in the morning.
I think my family has a lottery going whether I will go out with my hand still clutching the mouse.
jrb3,
I'm not allowed to smoke in the house, so having to go outside tends to cut down on the amount...especially during the winter!
posted on May 2, 2001 02:36:24 PM new
I forgot which day it is.
I can't tell y'all the number of times I don't know if it's Monday Or Tuesday. (All the court shows come on at the same time.)
I also have a bad habbit when preparing for Thursday listings to be up until 6am.
As for sleeping I live on Bourbon St In New Orleans so there is always something going on.
Finish listings at 2am time to go across the street for a few drinks before bed.
But Hey I never dread Monday Mornings like all my friends they are no worse or better then Friday mornings
JB
posted on May 2, 2001 02:37:53 PM new
I've on an eBay break, so things aren't as bad as the used to be, but for a while there is got UGLY!!!
1. Weight Gain
2. Child neglect - no overseeing homeworks, missing assignments, junk food
3. Real pain in my legs when I actually tried to work in the garden or outside
4. Housekeeping Neglect - long as I had a path to my work area, I considered it clean!
5. Friend Neglect - if they didn't eBay, I didn't bother with 'em
6. Family Function Neglect - WHAT a party on a SUNDAY? - HA! That's listin' day!
7. Personal Hygiene - Hey, I'm not goin' anywhere, why shower? - Long as the folks at
the PO didn't complain, I was OK!!!
8. Pajamas - 24x7, & a pair of sweats & long coat to throw over them when on PO runs!
Since I started my sabbatical, I've been showered, dressed & ready to roll by 9:00am...I've lost about 25lbs, and am really enjoying yard work!!!...The kids are doin' better in school, the $15 a week (3 kids) lunch bill has been slashed to $5.00 by makin' lunches....&...I even have some RL friends!!!!!......
1.) TV runs day & night, trying to find a way to bring it into my lair so I can watch as well as listen. (family complains I have TV to loud) By the way "LIFETIME" is my channel of choice.
2.) Cooking use to be the "love of my life", now I nash my teeth everytime I have to stop to cook supper and clear a spot to eat it....grrrrrr.
3.) My social life is ZIP, ZERO, NADA. My mom quit coming from out of town to see me as she could see how her interuptions irritated me. (thats really bad..huh?)
Besides I don't want company coming, I'd have to clear a spot for them to sit.
4.) I'm hooking up to cable modem next month and I'm beside myself on where I'm going to put all this stuff so the cable guy can get to things *sigh*.
5.) I wouldn't let daughter come home from college for Easter because I would have had to try and find her bed. So we went to her.
6.) I too smoke more then I ever have in my life. I've taken up sunflower seeds and that cuts down on the smoking but the damn shells are everywhere....now where did I put that broom?
posted on May 2, 2001 03:07:16 PM new
I can see that this thread is going to be hysterical, so I decided I had to join in. I was laughing hard at alot of the stuff posted here so far.
No court tv for me, but I must play my oldies radio station in the background (my girlfriend hates it badly!). Of course, a constant supply of diet Mountain Dew is par for the course to keep me awake on those late Friday nights when I have to notify upteen winning bidders. I swear I must have lost 40 percent of the hair on my head since starting ebay sales, mostly due to my self-imposed deadlines (I'm a perfectionist).
My lady was telling me just last night (during an argument) that I've become distant and machine-like since I started "worshipping that blankety-blank computer". Last night, she actually accused me of not being romantic or buying her flowers any more, so I offered to bid on some flowers on the spot, and she gets all offended! God, there ain't no pleasing some people! And much like what EG posted previously (I loved item number 6 on her list!), I too cringe when the phone rings and I have to inform this crude blasphemer that I'm right in the middle of my daily 12 hour ebay workload. Sometimes my Mom gets offended, sometimes she don't. I can't get her to take up the ebay life, mostly because of the horror stories I've been feeding her. I've tried to get so many of my family members to start selling on ebay, but it always falls on deaf ears, even when they start telling me once again how badly they need extra money to pay the bills, etc.
Anyway, so as not to get too far of the subject, my aquired bad habits which are the direct result of ebay:
1) Driving a "tinge" quicker than I ought to on the way to the post office to beat a deadline.
2) Loudly uttering "things" and gesturing at other drivers that are driving 20 miles per hour in a 30mph zone while I'm on the way to achieving goal number one above with 2 minutes to get to the post office.
3) Becoming VERY short tempered at the slightest setback when I'm in a hurry. Once, when my printer had a continuous stamps.com problem and wasted postage when I had 10 minutes to get to the post office (5 miles), I actually punched the thing, sending parts flying to the other side of the room. I'm better now. Really, I am.
4) Due to bad habit number 3, I am constantly trying to unwind with deep breathing, so people in line at the post office no doubt think I'm going into labor soon or gonna go postal.
5) I spend nearly 90 percent of my waking moments thinking and/or worrying about my ebay business in some aspect or another. I'm sure that it's shaved a few years off my life.
6) (This is more of a side effect than a habit): Doing 100 times more paperwork than I ever had to do by being someone else's employee. But it's all in the game, and there's really nothing else I'd rather do. All kidding aside, with ebay I've finally found that elusive thing in life that I truly love to do for a living. And probably more important to me than the money, is that I can express myself to a worldwide audience.
posted on May 2, 2001 03:49:14 PM new
I have 4 windows open at ALL times on my computer.
1.) My eBay
2.) AuctionWatch
3.) local TV guide (gotta check the Lifetime movies)
4.) eBay Search
And I'm only an occasional seller. I cannot pass up a box, ever, unless the circumstances are extra-awkward. I almost snagged one out of the trash in a parking garage yesterday, but there were people walking up to me and I would've been embarrassed.
posted on May 2, 2001 04:20:58 PM new
Where to start, where to start...?
1. Sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night to do eBay. My husband particularly dislikes that one. I usually wait until he starts to snore, but he still catches me sometimes.
2. Looking speculatively at any books I encounter and muttering "hey, I could get ten bucks for that on eBay!" My friends get very nervous whenever I start looking over their bookshelves...
3. Fighting over who gets to use the laptop.
4. Forgetting to feed the dog.
5. Whenever someone wonders where they could find something, I immediately say something about "I bet you could find that on eBay!"
6. Forgetting to brush my hair and get dressed before going to the post office.
7. Starting to cook dinner, going in to the computer "just for a minute" and then wondering why it smells like something's burning...
posted on May 2, 2001 05:14:42 PM new
Best thread in a *long* time!
I'm going to save myself the embarassment and just say, "Yep" to all of the above.
Blackjack: My boyfriend is a computer addict (gives us something to talk about LOL) and I am always MORE than happy to get 'ebay presents'.
I think the #1 worst habit I've picked up is AuctionWatch.....the family staged an intervention when I told one to many stories where the main characters were: Spaz, Enchanted, Packer and several versions of cats.
True story: Last week my mom was talking to one of the ferrets and said, "Get your fuzzy ass in here". I came running. Time for a break! LOL
posted on May 2, 2001 06:10:02 PM new
WOW all of the above!!!! except weight gain. i have lost 27 pounds in 13 months doing ebay because coffee and smokes have no calories.(who has time to eat?) i am a human coffee filter now. but when i get away from it and work outside life is wonderful. at times i have come in and looked at the computer like it was evil.
my eyes are always squinting. and i talk to much when around real humans. (and it always ends up being about ebay). the coffee thing has me worried. i also grown like a dog if anyone gets near the computer. its insane
posted on May 2, 2001 07:44:55 PM new
Bad Habbits:
1) talk only about ebay ~ nothing else is interesting anymore
2) have friends who do ebay~ other friends are boring
3) talk endlessly about how "good" my auctions are going
4) talk endlessly about how "bad" my auctions are going
5) resent doing gardening, cleaning house and making dinners as it takes time away from looking at auctions ( forget the listing)
6) think about how much more money I could be making while I am making dinner
7) my closest friends are people who work at the thrift stores and second hand book stores where we discuss "wonder what you will get for that piece of junk". ( they all know what I do and laugh at me!
8) my second closest friends are people who work at the post office who ask " what did you sell this week?"
9) closets are no longer closets but book holding places ~ we are storing my son's things till he moves back to Vancouver but I moved his one suit ( where my husband had put in his closet ) to my daughter's closet so my books wouldn't fall over ~ books are in his closet so it is really my closet now )
10) husband complains endlessly how if I could empty the back room he could finish our old house ( as if ~ he hasn't touched the place in 5 years and after 20 years I am still waiting for kitchen cubboards 1/2 finished)
11) hope to retire so all I do is ebay ebay ebay ( maybe amazon if they ever get their act together)
12) go on holidays to only visit new second hand stores or second hand books stores
13) go to town only to go to the second hand books store and use shopping for food as an excuse.
O.K. I guess ebay has only given me bad habits but am I happy! YES! I love it. More exciting than anything that has happened to me ( except for when my daughter got out of her hospital bed after 4 weeks and walked she had broken her neck in 2 places~ everyone on the hospital ward cheered! )
WEll, back to look at my auctions ~ only the 50th time today!
posted on May 2, 2001 07:46:22 PM new
When I have auctions closing every 10 minutes on saturday and sunday, I set in front of the computer watching snipers, and sending out EOAs for hours. No time for the family.
posted on May 2, 2001 08:40:19 PM new
WOW! I think some psych dept somewhere needs to study all of us! We'll have a new disease like PTSD Maybe ESP--Ebay Seller Phenomenon. My symptoms match all of yours--the one that really got me was worrying about how the cable guy was going to install in the midst of the chaos. I've done that twice. Took several days of concerted sorting, packing and moving to make an accessible path.
No one who knew me in my former life would believe the pack rat's den I live in or the hours I keep. The only people who get invited to visit are fellow ebayers--they understand!
My big dream is to build a separate building in the back yard for the ebay business--at least I'd have to put a coat on over my jammies in the winter. Can I get away with calling that dressing?
Have you all asked yourselves what you would tell a boss who forced such working conditions on you. I have and it is not nice. EMS........Ebay Masochism Syndrome.
posted on May 2, 2001 10:00:19 PM new
discoverybooks- My dogs thank you for reminding me...#4.
My son's new chores for Saturdays for allowance are:
1) Vacuum compooter room and stack everything neatly (teaches him balance and besides he does it better than me!).
2) Organize books alphabetically by author on bookselves (helps with his reading skills).
3) Do laundry (for future training if ever I start selling clothing).
4) Take tape off used bubble-wrap (so I can reuse it for my sales).
When I took one week off my RL job and only listed on ebay I actually lost weight. Didn't have the time for lunch...instead ate around 4pm lunch/dinner combo.(I prefer Banquet dinners over Mrs. Swanson's...)
posted on May 2, 2001 10:29:58 PM new
I don't know about you all but I get completely bummed out when I have nothing listed.
Right now I'm taking a break because I have a huge volunteer commitment coming up fast and I need to work on that, and listing is too distracting. But I miss it all the time. It depresses me when I have nothing to check on my 'current auctions' page.
And I wonder if I am the only one who has planned a vacation around places that have good thrift stores?
Luckily, my significant other is supportive. I wouldn't say he enjoys all the shopping but he's capable of keeping himself amused and never complains (well, not much.) I think he realizes that the income makes a huge difference in my life and therefore in his, and keeps him from getting testy about the house filled to overflowing, the shipping duties taking precedence over everything else, the garage sale hopping on the weekends when we're supposed to be spending quality time together, etc. etc.
posted on May 2, 2001 11:04:21 PM new
oh yes, i've got a *lot* of these symptoms. and i too hate it when i don't have anything up. like now. when i wake up or get home from an errand, i feel vaguely depressed because i can't go check and see what's sold or has another bid. the only thing that consoles me is making another thrift shop run and coming home gleefully with yet more cool stuff to sell. i LOVE unpacking the bags!
sweat pants and t-shirt are my uniform. often go a few days without a shower unless i must go out among 'normal' people. also believe that if people want to contact me, they should email; clearly the phone line is meant for a modem. most horizontal surfaces are covered with piles of stuff to be mended, ironed, sorted, or with shipping stuff. i now regularly come to auction watch, because you guys are the only ones who'll understand. my cat is about to run away from home because the only way she can get my attention is to stand in front of my monitor. (thank god i don't have a share a computer with anyone! the cat standing for a couple seconds in front of the monitor is bad enough!) i now only have friends who at least have a general idea of how ebay works and some interest in it. i once, in a fit of absentmindedness, made the mistake of saying to a non-ebayer, 'so i had to neg her,' and watched my friend's head turn sideways the same way my dog used to when she didn't understand something i was saying.
posted on May 3, 2001 01:35:58 AM new
I knew i was addicted when I went up to CT from new Orleans to see my parents and onthe way home stopped at a flea market and killed 2 hours buying too much stuff to bring home so I listed it while up in CT.
I then preboxed the dozen or so items and coerced my parents into shipping them when I came back home.
JOE B
posted on May 3, 2001 05:31:29 AM new
1. Encouraging children to spend more time playing on the computer so I can work on auction stuff or read these message boards.
2. Cooking in larger quantities so I don't have to cook a full meal every day (more time to spend on computer on "off" cooking days, but not necessarily a bad thing)
3. Tendency to grab quickie (more fattening) snacks rather than take the time to cut up fruit or make a salad, hence, 15 lb. weight gain
4. Less exercise (except for hauling boxes from basement to 2nd floor to take pics and write descriptions) contributing to 15 lb. weight gain
However, my husband and kids are great about my auction work, they really are. It's just me that feels guilty about some of the above... http://bjgrolle.freehomepage.com
posted on May 3, 2001 07:06:16 AM new
OMG, I can relate to almost eveyone. My background of choice is Court TV. Lifetime left me to teary eyed and made my vison blury so I could not see the computer clear enough, do not have a pet, do not have a child to help "organize" my "stuff." Refering to snacks and meals as quickies, I remember when this term had a diferent connotation. I think I need a 12 step program. Then that means time away, getting dressed, I love my life lol.
Reenie
posted on May 3, 2001 07:24:50 AM new
I don't believe I have slept a whole night through since I started. I have to get up to check my auctions and/or answer email.
I don't have a social life anymore.....
But, I must say it is the best thing I have ever done. I love it! I am totally undisciplined in real life but when it comes to my ebay, I can actually feel proud that I got something accomplished and didn't procrastinate. So what if I never get dressed??
